The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

We live in a world filled with slogans, declarations, and jargon beyond caring. It is pervasive and unsettlingly, particularly when directed at our younger generations. Sound bites have become sound bits have become momentary flashes and glimpses of a life into which people are rushing headlong without safely looking in both directions. The result is equivalent to a multi-car pile-up of no small proportion, each driver blaming adjacent drivers for the predicament they are in. The falsities are overwhelming. Current political environments do not foster the best in us. Instead, they encourage a blunt and dispassionate tone toward constituents that is deeply concerning. When power trumps service, much is at risk.

The tabloid-ing of America is reflected in the glut of confusing, misleading, and irresponsible internet headlines, a seeming majority employing the lowly ellipse as a device to lure us in. Ellipses are formally used to indicate that a word has been removed from within a quotation. By today’s standards, it is now used to divide words mid-phrase, dissecting them letter-by-letter, a literary surgical procedure that was never intended. Most of the culprits are ad companies determined to garner our attentions. I no longer respond to titles using ellipses in unbecoming ways. It is my single yet determined campaign to bring order to internet advertising. From the looks of things, it is apparent by quest is not doing well.

Politicians are no help whatsoever. Complete sentences are something novel to many of them, leading to the conclusion that keyboards with CAP keys should not be allowed in press corps areas or used by any candidates. Surely there is enough yelling and noise to go around without throwing all CAP tantrums online. Where does that lead us? We could try simple honest statements as an alternative. It starts with a straightforward understanding of one’s own principles. In churches that regularly utilize creeds in their liturgical libraries, much of the heavy lifting is done by simply reading or stating established creedal elements. For the creed-challenged among us, it is a bit more problematic. Consider writing a short paragraph stating a few core beliefs. Try it on for size and see how it fits. You might be surprised at what springs to life. Here is mine… (please note the ellipse).

“I believe in the divinity discoverable within humankind and in our role as spiritual vessels seeking safe harbor on behalf of a tired and weary world. I do not deny the sanctity of the cross, but neither can I arbitrarily dismiss the sincerely held beliefs of others who have not graciously been provided the same life template that is now before me. I believe the myopic vision of recent months will broaden when kindness and gentleness replace the distortions of so-called Christian identity movements, when we look first to our own shortcomings before condemning others, and when we conclude that declarations of victimhood by the church have no standing. If the church is to die, I will not acquiesce quietly, but with the same fervor and divine grace that has always been afforded me.”

There it is, good for as long as I am inspired by its content and remain flexible enough to live into its future. It is a snapshot of this moment only, but, one that continues to evolve and grow, a challenge worth taking up.